"There was a problem retrieving printer information for this object. The object may have been sent to a printer that is unavailable" (1 Viewer)

[bcmarshall]

I am working remotely on a database. I've been able to open reports without issue and suddenly I'm getting the above message. I don't have access to printers and I can't even open the reports in design view. Can you provide some assistance please?

As always, all help is greatly appreciated.

 

[June7]

Are you opening report to PrintPreview?

Something must have changed.

 

[bcmarshall]

Normally, I do open it to print preview but I tried to go directly to design view and I got the same error message.

 

[June7]

That's odd. I would expect a message that report is configured for a printer not available and asking if I want to change settings to another printer, but not an error.

 

[bcmarshall]

I don't understand it. I went back and logged in about three hours later and it worked as it always had. I don't believe in miracles but I just experienced one.

Thanks for trying. If the problem returns I'll let you know but for now I'm able to work normally.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

The problem is that you cannot "print preview" a report if the target printer has dropped off the network. Print Preview requires the ability to see a printer so that its print characteristics can be determined. This is because Print Preview renders the page according to the resolution and other properties set for the printer. Just as the graphic presentation of an Access form looks different depending on screen resolution settings, so it can look different based on print resolution settings.

As a test, the next time this happens, IMMEDIATELY open your Windows Start >> Settings >> Devices and check the status of your printer.

Also, remember it is possible to have associated a specific printer to a report where that printer differs from your current default printer.

One last question: Did this problem first show up on a Wednesday? (No, not kidding.) Microsoft tends to push system and driver patches every other Tuesday night, so if you caught a driver patch, something might have gotten wonky.